Saturday, May 31, 2014

A Pile of Little FOs

So I've been finishing a bunch of projects lately. And by lately, I mean since about April and I am just finally photographing them. I mean, I made these amazingly cute booties while I was still working at the store. I got pictures of them yesterday.

This cardigan was something I started on a whim when I went into a shop and saw the new Paton's Metallic yarn and decided I wanted to have something made from it. I don't know how much I'll wear this, but it was fun to make and I love the colour. It's one of those projects that will either get a ton of wear or I'll never find an outfit that it suits.

This shawl is another thing I finished while I was still working at the store. The dark pink middle square is a gorgeous mohair my former coworker got me as a Christmas present one year, and the lighter pink is Kidsilk Haze that I got half price when I was working at a needlework festival one year.

This little sweater is made to replace another I made from the same pattern that I wore so much I started to felt the armpits. Whoops. I got the yarn at Romni when I went back to get a second ball of the yarn I used for my stripey neon/sparkly cardigan- I saw this and just could not resist.
It's the Chevron Lace Cardigan, but modified a little bit so that it didn't buckle at the top. Instead of working it exactly as written, I worked an even row in between each increase row. It lays much flatter than it did when I worked it as written.

This is just a simple stripey baby granny blanket I made from some Sirdar Countrystyle I got at the store in the final days. It was on sale and I could not resist the colour combo. So much fun! I still have some left over and eventually will use it to make my future spawn a blanket. I've got awhile for that, though!

This is the newest finished project and the one I am most proud of. I went out to Len's Mills to get some yarn to finish and blanket I was making, and decided that since I hadn't found a purse I liked and I wanted to try a tutorial I'd seen, I would get all the supplies.

The tutorial is here, and I was really happy with how it came out. I made everything about an inch bigger than what was suggested because I do like a large purse, but I didn't want anything too huge because then I just fill it up and carry a million pounds of stuff around.
The outer fabric I chose after a lot of careful mulling about at the shop, and the interior is from the fat quarters I bought on my honeymoon.
I also got some Star Trek fabric at the shop, whaaat! I am going to make project bags out of it. I also have some Star Trek fabric already that I'm going to make a dress out of. 

Look at all those beautiful interior pockets! It has one zipper interior pocket and four patch pockets, and then the front pocket too. It's quite excellent- although I might switch those two little pockets that are currently carrying a pack of emergency Nerds and my old camera to my phone and Ipod. Not that emergency Nerds aren't important.
My favorite bit about it is hard to decide- I love that it has an adjustable strap, but the best bit might be the leather flap. I found leather scraps at Len's Mills and they were only 25$ a pound- my little scrap was 5$. It really adds a nice professional finish, I think. I love my new purse!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

My Pretties


I promised pictures of what I got in NYC on my yarn crawl, so here they are!
Let's see- the pom poms and the pink cone of wool/stainless steel at the top were from Lion Brand, where I started the day. I also talked to the crochet person from their store, and we decided that we should be best friends because we are both store crochet people. But since I don't know her name and I'm not store crochet person anymore, this plan seems flawed.
I went to Purl Soho next, and it was just as awesome as I hoped. I got the yellow and blue in the bottom left there- yummy alpaca. I also got the bright pink Purl Soho Line Weight there, and the two skeins of grey Loft at the top that I've caked up. They will be legwarmers sometime soon.
My last stop was way out after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. I let Andrew come along on the last bit to explore Brooklyn together a little. He waited very patiently for me in the store- mostly because we'd spent several hours walking and there was a comfy chair for him to sit down in.

I have close ups of this pretty- lookit her, cashmere! I'm so excited for this. It's going to be a perfectly plush, soft little cowl.
In the back of this, you can also see the three colours of Barnwool I got. They're going to be a cowl too- it'll start with the darkest colour and move up to the lightest. I can't wait!
And they're both store brand, too. I tried to do a lot of that, because I wanted things I can't get here. I love me some MadTosh, but I can get MadTosh all over TO- Purl Soho Lineweight, not so much.
After the stop at Brooklyn General Store, Andrew and I went off to the Doctor Who themed pub, which was most excellent. The bathroom is a TARDIS! My little nerdy heart sang with joy. We also had a drink called the 10th Doctor. Eee!


I didn't just get yarn, though. At Purl Soho, I bought this little stack of fat quarters. They're so pretty! As you can see, two pieces have already become new bags. I'm probably going to do this for all of them- sew up one project bag with a matching zipper notion bag.

I did get a few other things- some stitch markers for my friend Alia, who looked after my froggy while I was gone, a pack of adorable embroidery patterns for Kate, and the pom poms which I am so excited about. Pom poms. I love 'em.